Calstrs Makes it Official: It’s Pulling Out of Firearm Investments

California State Teachers’ Retirement System, better known as Calstrs, said in a statement it has decided to sell “certain firearms holdings.”

Calstrs had said in the wake of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that it would review its investments in firearms. One investment was in a Cerberus Capital Management fund that owns the nation’s biggest manufacturer of high-powered rifles, including the kind used in Newtown, Conn.

Wednesday Calstrs released the following statement:

“I think we’ve taken appropriate action, given the unspeakable and tragic loss of life that occurred in Connecticut last month-the latest in an ongoing line of similar incidents involving assault weapons and mass casualties,” said Investment Committee Chair Harry Keiley. “This latest incident, which occurred at a school and involved fellow educators and the children we cherish, is a tipping point for CalSTRS and speaks to the correctness of our actions. This is not only the right thing to do but positions us to deal with the financial pressures we anticipate this sector of the industry will face.”

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